The present invention relates to an electronic imaging device, especially, to an electronic imaging device which improves a configuration of a shooting lens unit and an arrangement of an internal unit.
In general, in an electronic imaging device, especially an electronic camera (digital still camera), since the number of internal element components thereof is larger than that of the camera of the film installation type, the camera main body tends to become large and deteriorate portability, etc. Therefore, a lot of proposals to achieve the miniaturization are performed. Especially, when thickness in the optical axis direction of the camera main body becomes thick, the bad influence is caused for not only portability but also the holding stability at shooting. As a factor that the camera main body becomes thick, it is thought that the arrangement of the image display section such as various electric circuit board and LCD influences with the optical path length of the optical system.
First, concerning the optical path length of the optical system, by bending the optical system at a midpoint in an optical path, the method of making the camera main body compact is known well without changing the total length of the optical path length.
The following camera device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 9-281578. In this camera device, the wide-angle converter lens is rotatably and movably arranged to an incidence side of the telescopic master lens, which images an image of the subject on the imaging surface of the solid imaging element. This converter lens is rotated and moved at a position on the optical path from the subject to the master lens and a position outside an optical path, and the reflection mirror is arranged at the rotation center of the converter lens. As a result, the length of the device can be set to a short optical path length from the imaging surface to the reflection mirror, and the entire device is made compact.
The following imaging device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 9-211287. This imaging device installs the prism in which the inclined plane which reflects and deflects the luminous flux to the object side of the shooting system is made as an inside reflection side, and shortens length in the horizontal direction of the shooting system by constructing to perform imaging through the prism.
Regarding to the arrangement of the image display section such as various electric circuit board and LCD, a method of prevent from increase of thickness has been performed by arranging the shooting optical system in the end portion of the main body of the device and applying a layout in which the shooting optical system and various electric circuit board, and the image display sections, etc. are not overlapped in the main body of the device in the thickness direction.
As described above, conventionally, a method of bending the shooting optical system is known to thin the thickness of the device. However, thickness of device is not determined only by a physical size of the shooting optical system. Relative arrangement with the print circuit board or the image display section is an important element in the thickness of the device as previously described. In addition, it is also possible that portability and the operativeness of the device cannot be satisfied only with the device thin, and convenience worsens oppositely. Actually, a large restriction is caused in shape and the layout and there is a possibility that the disadvantage is brought up by operativeness etc., since the position of the shooting optical system is limited to a left end or a right end of the main body of the device and as a result, the camera becomes oblong to secure the area of the substrate, etc. When the shooting optical system is arranged in the end portion in the main body of the device so as not to be overlapped to the various electric circuit board and the image display section, etc., a similar disadvantage is occurred, even when the shooting optical system is incorporated in the main body of the device.